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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

alternation en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈɒl.tə(ɹ)ˌneɪ.ʃən/ (UK)
  • /ˈɑl.tɚˌneɪ.ʃən/ (US)
  • /ˈɔl.tɚˌneɪ.ʃən/ (US)
  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin alternatio; compare French alternation. By surface analysis, alternate + -ion.

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) The reciprocal succession of (normally two) things in time or place; the act of following and being followed by turns; alternate succession, performance, or occurrence
    • alternation of summer and winter
    • alternation between night shifts and day shifts
    • alternation of feelings between hope and fear
    • the alternation of day and night
  2. (countable, uncountable) The response of the congregation speaking alternately with the minister.
    • There are Anthems to be found amongst them , where every syllable has its just length ; each part of a sentence its proper pause : where the words are not confused by perplexing alternations, or rendered tedious by unnecessary repetitions 1795, William Mason, Essays, Historical and Critical, on English Church Music:
  3. (countable, uncountable) Ablaut.
  4. (countable, uncountable) A pattern by which more than one construct is possible, as with "Alice cooked Bob dinner" and "Alice cooked dinner for Bob".
    • dative alternation; locative alternation
  5. (countable, uncountable) The "inclusive or" truth function.
  6. (countable, uncountable) A sequence that alternates between positive and negative values.
  7. (countable, proscribed, uncountable) A permutation.
  8. (countable, uncountable) A construct in a regular expression that can match any of several specified subexpressions.
  9. (countable, uncountable) A type of partial truncation of a polygon, polyhedron or tiling in which alternate vertices are removed.
    • 1932, Harold Scott Macdonald Coxeter, The densities of the regular polytopes, part 2, reprinted in 1995, F. Arthur Sherk, Peter Mcmullen, Anthony C. Thompson, Asia Ivić Weiss (editors), Kaleidoscopes: Selected Writings of H. S. M. Coxeter, page 54, This case suggests that the alternation of a polyhedron should be bounded by actual vertex figures and alternated faces. The case of the cube is in agreement with this notion, since the alternated square is nothing.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
alternations Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

grammatical alternation · nonalternation · alternational · Verner alternation · alternation of generations · dative alternation

Translations (29)

pl alternacja (alternating sequence) · eo alternado (alternate succession) · fi vuorottelu (alternate succession) · pt alternância (alternate succession) · sh alternácija (alternate succession) · es rotación (alternate succession) · ga uainíocht (alternate succession) · fr alternance (alternate succession) · fi vuorottelu (response) · bg смя́на (alternate succession) · ga ailtéarnú (alternate succession) · bg реду́ване (alternate succession) · uk чергува́ння (alternate succession) · ca alternança (alternate succession) · pl odpowiedź (response) · tr münavebe (alternate succession) · it alternanza (alternate succession) · sh алтерна́ција (alternate succession) · ro alternare (alternate succession) · es alternancia (alternate succession) · tr alternasyon (alternate succession) · ca alternació (alternate succession) · pl alternacja (alternate succession) · ga sealaíocht (alternate succession) · pt alternação (alternate succession) · io alterno (alternate succession) · ru сме́на (alternate succession) · ru чередова́ние (alternate succession) · be чаргава́нне (alternate succession)